ALBANY -- Evan Hymes stood in front of his locker with dejection written all over his face.

Siena's sophomore point guard was the major reason his team was even in Friday night's game against Niagara, matching his career-high in points and playing all 40 minutes.

Instead, Hymes was focused on the two turnovers he committed in the final three minutes, which in his mind cost his team the game. After Hymes notched his 30th point of the night, the first-place Purple Eagles scored 10 of the game's final 12 points, to escape with a 78-69 victory, in front of 6,387 fans in downtown Albany.

Advertisement

"I couldn't care less about the points," Hymes said, visibly frustrated. "We lost the game. I take ownership on that. I shouldn't have turned the ball over at the end. We were right in it."

The Saints (2-7, 4-16) played much better than they did nine days ago, when the Purple Eagles (8-1, 12-8) pounded them by 23 points.

"We didn't play the same team we played last week," said Niagara coach Joe Mihalich.

Siena played without two starters, Imoh Silas (ankle) and Rakeem Brookins (ankle) and also without reserve Ryan Oliver (knee). Trenity Burdine (academics) and Rob Poole (flu) returned to play.

Hymes was a big reason why Siena was in a position to take down the top team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. He finished 7-11 from the field and 4-5 from downtown, including some very long 3-pointers.

"He's an exciting, dangerous player if you play against him," Mihalich said. "I love watching him play, hate playing against him and he's one of those guys, when he gets it going, the basket just gets bigger and bigger for him."

Hymes scored the Saints' first 15 points after intermission, keeping them in, what coach Mitch Buonaguro said was his team's best offensive game of the season.

"(Hymes) played great," Buonaguro said. "The only reason why we were in the game was because of him."

Hymes finished with six assists, but would have liked one more. With Siena down three, 72-69, and a little more than one minute to play, he drove into the paint and kicked to a wide open Poole, in front of the Saints bench. Poole let a shot fly, but it bounced off the front rim and Siena was forced to foul.

"I have to make those shots, especially the one in the corner wide open," said Poole, who finished an uncharacteristic 2-7 from beyond the arc. "I thought that one was going in when I shot it."

The Saints didn't have enough to get over the hump, turning the ball over on three of their last six possessions.

"The clock was ticking and maybe they were a little more desperate," said Mihalich.

Like Siena, Niagara also has a young team, starting three sophomores, a freshman, along with senior Devon White.

"We talk a lot about toughness and attitude," said Mihalich, whose team won for the first time in Albany since 2005, snapping an 8-game losing streak. "I think our guys are kind of developing that."

It's something that the Saints have struggled with, whereas the Purple Eagles have excelled in late-game situations.

"Their belief in themselves and their toughness is probably what puts us over the top," Mihalich said of his squad.

Siena fell to 2-6 at home, but they've had a chance to win really all but one of those games.

"We're a good home team," Buonaguro said. "We play better at home. We're a young team, so the kids do feed off the crowd."

While Hymes was upset with himself, his teammates certainly weren't.

"He had the best game of his career, he's ever played," Poole said. "There's no need for him to be down at all. He's one of our best players. He played great."